Signaling information in physical broadcast channel (pbch) demodulation reference signals (dmrs)

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to signaling information in physical broadcast channel (PBCH) demodulation reference signals (DMRS). In one example, a network entity may transmit the signaling information carried by a DMRS in one or more resource elements of physical broadcast channel (PBCH) symbols within a bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal of a synchronization signal block. In another example, a user equipment (UE) may receive the signaling information carried by the DMRS within one or more resource elements of PBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal of a synchronization signal block on a broadcast channel from the network entity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional applicationSer. No. 15/956,211, entitled “SIGNALING INFORMATION IN PHYSICALBROADCAST CHANNEL (PBCH) DEMODULATION REFERENCE SIGNALS (DMRS)” andfiled on Apr. 18, 2018, and claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/520,967, entitled “SIGNALING INFORMATION INPHYSICAL BROADCAST CHANNEL (PBCH) DEMODULATION REFERENCE SIGNALS (DMRS)”and filed on Jun. 16, 2017, each of which is expressly incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wirelesscommunication networks, and more particularly, to signaling informationin physical broadcast channel (PBCH) demodulation reference signals(DMRS).

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-accesssystems capable of supporting communication with multiple users bysharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, andpower). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-divisionmultiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA)systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonalfrequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and single-carrierfrequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. For example, a fifth generation (5G)wireless communications technology (which can be referred to as newradio (NR)) is envisaged to expand and support diverse usage scenariosand applications with respect to current mobile network generations. Inan aspect, 5G communications technology can include: enhanced mobilebroadband addressing human-centric use cases for access to multimediacontent, services and data; ultra-low latency (ULL) and/orultra-reliable-low latency communications (URLLC) with certainspecifications for latency and reliability; and massive machine typecommunications, which can allow a very large number of connected devicesand transmission of a relatively low volume of non-delay-sensitiveinformation. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues toincrease, however, further improvements in NR communications technologyand beyond may be desired.

For example, for NR communications technology and beyond, signalinginformation in PBCH DMRS may provide a desired level of speed orcustomization for efficient operation. Thus, improvements in wirelesscommunication operations may be desired.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method for wirelesscommunications at a network entity. The method may include transmittingsignaling information carried by a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)in one or more resource elements of physical broadcast channel (PBCH)symbols within a bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal and asecondary synchronization signal of a synchronization signal block.

In another aspect, the present disclosure includes an apparatus forwireless communication comprising a memory and a processor incommunication with the memory. The processor may be configured totransmit signaling information carried by a DMRS in one or more resourceelements of PBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a primary synchronizationsignal and a secondary synchronization signal of a synchronizationsignal block.

In an additional aspect, the present disclosure includes an apparatusfor wireless communication comprising means for transmitting signalinginformation carried by a DMRS in one or more resource elements of PBCHsymbols within a bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal and asecondary synchronization signal of a synchronization signal block.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure includes acomputer-readable medium storing computer executable code for wirelesscommunications comprising code for transmitting signaling informationcarried by a DMRS in one or more resource elements of PBCH symbolswithin a bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal and a secondarysynchronization signal of a synchronization signal block.

In an aspect, the present disclosure includes a method for wirelesscommunications at a user equipment. The method may include receivingsignaling information carried by a DMRS within one or more resourceelements of PBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a primary synchronizationsignal and a secondary synchronization signal of a synchronizationsignal block on a broadcast channel from a network entity.

In another aspect, the present disclosure includes a user equipment (UE)for wireless communications comprising a memory and a processor incommunication with the memory, wherein the processor is configured toreceive signaling information carried by a DMRS within one or moreresource elements of PBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a primarysynchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal of asynchronization signal block on a broadcast channel from a networkentity.

In an additional aspect, the present disclosure includes a UE forwireless communications comprising means for receiving signalinginformation carried by a DMRS within one or more resource elements ofPBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal anda secondary synchronization signal of a synchronization signal block ona broadcast channel from a network entity.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure a computer-readable mediumstoring computer executable code for wireless communications comprisingcode for receiving signaling information carried by a DMRS within one ormore resource elements of PBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a primarysynchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal of asynchronization signal block on a broadcast channel from a networkentity.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe appended drawings, provided to illustrate and not to limit thedisclosed aspects, wherein like designations denote like elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a wireless communicationnetwork including at least one base station having an informationsignaling component and at least one user equipment (UE) having asynchronization component;

FIG. 2A is a conceptual diagram of a synchronization signal structurefor transmitting signaling information;

FIG. 2B is a conceptual diagram of an example synchronization signalblock used to transmit at least a DMRS including signaling information;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example of a method of wirelesscommunication at a network entity;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example of a method of wirelesscommunication at a UE;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of example components of the UE of FIG. 1;and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of example components of the base stationof FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In thefollowing description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofone or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) maybe practiced without these specific details. Additionally, the term“component” as used herein may be one of the parts that make up asystem, may be hardware, firmware, and/or software stored on acomputer-readable medium, and may be divided into other components.

The present disclosure generally relates to signaling information inphysical broadcast channel (PBCH) demodulation reference signals (DMRS).Specifically, network or cell synchronization may be initialed performedbetween a user equipment (UE) and a network entity (e.g., base station).During or as part of synchronization, the network entity may providesynchronization signals on the downlink to the UE. Such synchronizationsignals may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and/or asecondary synchronization signal (SSS). PSS may be used to synchronizetiming during cell search. SSS may be used to synchronize timing and/orto transmit physical cell identification during cell search. Suchinformation may be transmitted on a downlink channel such as PBCH. DMRSmay be also be transmitted on PBCH. In particular, DMRS may facilitatechannel estimation and coherent demodulation of an uplink and/ordownlink communication channel by the UE. DMRS may be transmitted in oneor more resource elements of PBCH symbols within a bandwidth. The DMRSdensity along the bandwidth, which may include an SSS and PSS bandwidthmay vary. For example, DMRS density may be less within an SSS bandwidthas compared to outside the SSS bandwidth. Thus, it may be beneficial totransmit DMRS within a bandwidth having a smaller density.

As such, the present aspects provide information signaling carried byDMRS in an SSS bandwidth. For example, in an aspect, a network entitymay transmit signaling information carried by a DMRS in one or moreresource elements of PBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a primarysynchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal of asynchronization signal block. Additionally, in an aspect, a UE mayreceive signaling information carried by a DMRS within one or moreresource elements of PBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a primarysynchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal of asynchronization signal block on a broadcast channel from a networkentity.

Additional features of the present aspects are described in more detailbelow with respect to FIGS. 1-6.

It should be noted that the techniques described herein may be used forvarious wireless communication networks such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA,SC-FDMA, and other systems. The terms “system” and “network” are oftenused interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technologysuch as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc.CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 Releases 0and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1×, 1×, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856)is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1×EV-DO, High Rate Packet Data(HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants ofCDMA. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA system may implement aradio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA(E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20,Flash-OFDM™, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) andLTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA,E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from anorganization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP). CDMA2000and UMB are described in documents from an organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). The techniques describedherein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentionedabove as well as other systems and radio technologies, includingcellular (e.g., LTE) communications over a shared radio frequencyspectrum band. The description below, however, describes an LTE/LTE-Asystem for purposes of example, and LTE terminology is used in much ofthe description below, although the techniques are applicable beyondLTE/LTE-A applications (e.g., to 5G networks or other next generationcommunication systems).

The following description provides examples, and is not limiting of thescope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit,substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. Forinstance, the methods described may be performed in an order differentfrom that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, orcombined. Also, features described with respect to some examples may becombined in other examples.

Referring to FIG. 1, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure, an example wireless communication network 100 may include atleast one UE 110 in communication with a base station 105. The basestation 105 may have a modem 160, which in turn includes an informationsignaling component 170 that may transmit, to the UE 110, signalinginformation 176 carried by a DMRS 174 in one or more resource elementsof PBCH symbols within a bandwidth of a PSS and a SSS of asynchronization signal block 172. For example, the information signalingcomponent 170 may transmit the signaling information 176 carried in theDMRS 174 within the SSS and/or SSS bandwidth 172.

In an aspect, in instances where the DMRS 174 within the SSS and/or PSSbandwidth 172 carried at least some signaling information 176, thesignaling information 176 may be carried in the DMRS 174 by havingdifferent DMRS sequences. For example, in some aspects, four DMRSsequences may be used to carry two bits. In a further aspect, thesignaling information 176 may be carried in a phase of the DMRS 174. Forinstance, the information signaling component 170 may be configured toinitially generate a base DMRS sequence in a frequency domain. Theinformation signaling component 170 may then apply a phase offset to thegenerated base DMRS sequence. In an example where two information bitsare carried in DMRS 174, the phase offset may be selected from 0, pi/2,pi, or 3pi/2.

In some aspects, the signaling information 176 carried in DMRS 174within the SSS and/or PSS bandwidth 172 may include part of a systemframe number and/or a synchronization signal block time index or part ofa synchronization signal block time index. The signaling information 176carried in the bits of the DMRS 174 may be additionally transmitted inPBCH (e.g., MIB) through different scrambling or as part of a payload ordifferent resource element mapping (e.g., rate-matching using differentoffset when mapped to resources), or a combination thereof. Further,redundancy information may be provided for the UE 110 so as to allow theUE 110 to determine how to the use the information for simplifyingprocessing.

Wireless communication network 100 may also include at least one UE 110with a modem 140 having a synchronization component 150 to receive thesignaling information 176 carried by the DMRS 174 within one or moreresource elements of PBCH symbols within a PSS and SSS bandwidth 172 ofa synchronization signal block on a broadcast channel from the basestation 105. For example, the UE 110 may use the signaling information176 carried in carried in PBCH DMRS 174 within SSS and/or PSS bandwidth172 to facilitate synchronization with the network. Specifically, insome aspects, the signaling information may be used by all UEs includingUE 110 to complete a synchronization procedure. In some aspects, thesignaling information 176 may be optional such that some UEs may not usesuch signaling information 176 in the SSS and/or PSS bandwidth 172.However, some UEs may use the signaling information 176 to reduce thereceiver complexity.

The wireless communication network 100 may include one or more basestations 105, one or more UEs 110, and a core network 115. The corenetwork 115 may provide user authentication, access authorization,tracking, internet protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access,routing, or mobility functions. The base stations 105 may interface withthe core network 115 through backhaul links 120 (e.g., 51, etc.). Thebase stations 105 may perform radio configuration and scheduling forcommunication with the UEs 110, or may operate under the control of abase station controller (not shown). In various examples, the basestations 105 may communicate, either directly or indirectly (e.g.,through core network 115), with one another over backhaul links 125(e.g., X1, etc.), which may be wired or wireless communication links.

The base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 110 viaone or more base station antennas. Each of the base stations 105 mayprovide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area130. In some examples, base stations 105 may be referred to as a basetransceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, an accessnode, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), HomeNodeB, a Home eNodeB, a relay, or some other suitable terminology. Thegeographic coverage area 130 for a base station 105 may be divided intosectors or cells making up only a portion of the coverage area (notshown). The wireless communication network 100 may include base stations105 of different types (e.g., macro base stations or small cell basestations, described below). Additionally, the plurality of base stations105 may operate according to different ones of a plurality ofcommunication technologies (e.g., 5G (New Radio or “NR”), fourthgeneration (4G)/LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.), and thus there may beoverlapping geographic coverage areas 130 for different communicationtechnologies.

In some examples, the wireless communication network 100 may be orinclude one or any combination of communication technologies, includinga new radio (NR) or 5G technology, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) orLTE-Advanced (LTE-A) or MuLTEfire technology, a Wi-Fi technology, aBluetooth technology, or any other long or short range wirelesscommunication technology. In LTE/LTE-A/MuLTEfire networks, the termevolved node B (eNB) may be generally used to describe the base stations105, while the term UE may be generally used to describe the UEs 110.The wireless communication network 100 may be a heterogeneous technologynetwork in which different types of eNBs provide coverage for variousgeographical regions. For example, each eNB or base station 105 mayprovide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, or othertypes of cell. The term “cell” is a 3GPP term that can be used todescribe a base station, a carrier or component carrier associated witha base station, or a coverage area (e.g., sector, etc.) of a carrier orbase station, depending on context.

A macro cell may generally cover a relatively large geographic area(e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted accessby UEs 110 with service subscriptions with the network provider.

A small cell may include a relative lower transmit-powered base station,as compared with a macro cell, that may operate in the same or differentfrequency bands (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) as macro cells. Smallcells may include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells according tovarious examples. A pico cell, for example, may cover a small geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 110 with servicesubscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also cover asmall geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted accessand/or unrestricted access by UEs 110 having an association with thefemto cell (e.g., in the restricted access case, UEs 110 in a closedsubscriber group (CSG) of the base station 105, which may include UEs110 for users in the home, and the like). A micro cell may cover ageographic area larger than a pico cell and a femto cell, but smallerthan a macro cell. An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macroeNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, apico eNB, a femto eNB, or a home eNB. An eNB may support one or multiple(e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells (e.g., component carriers).

The communication networks that may accommodate some of the variousdisclosed examples may be packet-based networks that operate accordingto a layered protocol stack and data in the user plane may be based onthe IP. A user plane protocol stack (e.g., packet data convergenceprotocol (PDCP), radio link control (RLC), MAC, etc.), may performpacket segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels.For example, a MAC layer may perform priority handling and multiplexingof logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also usehybrid automatic repeat/request (HARQ) to provide retransmission at theMAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the RRCprotocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenanceof an RRC connection between a UE 110 and the base station 105. The RRCprotocol layer may also be used for core network 115 support of radiobearers for the user plane data. At the physical (PHY) layer, thetransport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

The UEs 110 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communicationnetwork 100, and each UE 110 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 110 mayalso include or be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobilestation, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, awireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, awireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriberstation, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, aremote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, orsome other suitable terminology. A UE 110 may be a cellular phone, asmart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, awireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, alaptop computer, a cordless phone, a smart watch, a wireless local loop(WLL) station, an entertainment device, a vehicular component, acustomer premises equipment (CPE), or any device capable ofcommunicating in wireless communication network 100. Additionally, a UE110 may be Internet of Things (IoT) and/or machine-to-machine (M2M) typeof device, e.g., a low power, low data rate (relative to a wirelessphone, for example) type of device, that may in some aspects communicateinfrequently with wireless communication network 100 or other UEs. A UE110 may be able to communicate with various types of base stations 105and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, macro gNBs,small cell gNBs, relay base stations, and the like.

UE 110 may be configured to establish one or more wireless communicationlinks 135 with one or more base stations 105. The wireless communicationlinks 135 shown in wireless communication network 100 may carry uplink(UL) transmissions from a UE 110 to a base station 105, or downlink (DL)transmissions, from a base station 105 to a UE 110. The downlinktransmissions may also be called forward link transmissions while theuplink transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions. Eachwireless communication link 135 may include one or more carriers, whereeach carrier may be a signal made up of multiple sub-carriers (e.g.,waveform signals of different frequencies) modulated according to thevarious radio technologies described above. Each modulated signal may besent on a different sub-carrier and may carry control information (e.g.,reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, userdata, etc. In an aspect, the wireless communication links 135 maytransmit bidirectional communications using frequency division duplex(FDD) (e.g., using paired spectrum resources) or time division duplex(TDD) operation (e.g., using unpaired spectrum resources). Framestructures may be defined for FDD (e.g., frame structure type 1) and TDD(e.g., frame structure type 2). Moreover, in some aspects, the wirelesscommunication links 135 may represent one or more broadcast channels.

In some aspects of the wireless communication network 100, base stations105 or UEs 110 may include multiple antennas for employing antennadiversity schemes to improve communication quality and reliabilitybetween base stations 105 and UEs 110. Additionally or alternatively,base stations 105 or UEs 110 may employ multiple input multiple output(MIMO) techniques that may take advantage of multi-path environments totransmit multiple spatial layers carrying the same or different codeddata.

Wireless communication network 100 may support operation on multiplecells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrieraggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. A carrier may also bereferred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, etc. Theterms “carrier,” “component carrier,” “cell,” and “channel” may be usedinterchangeably herein. A UE 110 may be configured with multipledownlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs for carrier aggregation. Carrieraggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers. Thebase stations 105 and UEs 110 may use spectrum up to Y MHz (e.g., Y=5,10, 15, or 20 MHz) bandwidth per carrier allocated in a carrieraggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x=number of component carriers)used for transmission in each direction. The carriers may or may not beadjacent to each other. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric withrespect to DL and UL (e.g., more or less carriers may be allocated forDL than for UL). The component carriers may include a primary componentcarrier and one or more secondary component carriers. A primarycomponent carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and asecondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell(SCell).

The wireless communications network 100 may further include basestations 105 operating according to Wi-Fi technology, e.g., Wi-Fi accesspoints, in communication with UEs 110 operating according to Wi-Fitechnology, e.g., Wi-Fi stations (STAs) via communication links in anunlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in anunlicensed frequency spectrum, the STAs and AP may perform a clearchannel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedure prior tocommunicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

Additionally, one or more of base stations 105 and/or UEs 110 mayoperate according to a NR or 5G technology referred to as millimeterwave (mmW or mmwave) technology. For example, mmW technology includestransmissions in mmW frequencies and/or near mmW frequencies. Extremelyhigh frequency (EHF) is part of the radio frequency (RF) in theelectromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and awavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves in thisband may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may extend downto a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100 millimeters. Forexample, the super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and30 GHz, and may also be referred to as centimeter wave. Communicationsusing the mmW and/or near mmW radio frequency band has extremely highpath loss and a short range. As such, base stations 105 and/or UEs 110operating according to the mmW technology may utilize beamforming intheir transmissions to compensate for the extremely high path loss andshort range.

FIG. 2A is a conceptual diagram of a synchronization signal structure200 for transmitting the signaling information 178. Synchronizationsignals may be transmitted within a synchronization signal burst set302, which may include one or more synchronization signal bursts 304 a,304 b, and/or 304 c. Hence, a synchronization signal burst set 302corresponds to a set of synchronization signal bursts. In some aspects,synchronization signal burst set 302 may be transmitted periodicallywith a pre-defined synchronization signal burst set (SSBS) periodicity(10 ms, 20 ms, etc.). A synchronization signal burst corresponds to aset of synchronization signal blocks. Each synchronization signal blockmay include a PSS for signaling symbol timing, an SSS for signalingphysical cell ID (e.g., together with PSS) and frame timing, and/or PBCHfor signaling master information block (MIB) to support the UE 110 ininitial access procedures.

FIG. 2B is a conceptual diagram of an example synchronization signalblock used to transmit at least the DMRS 174 including the signalinginformation 176. Specifically, PBCH DMRS may be used for PBCHdemodulation. The synchronization signal block may include one or moreresource elements 212, of which one or more resource elements 214 areallocated or reserved for the SSS 218 and/or PSS 216 bandwidth. Further,DMRS may be frequency division multiplexed with PBCH 220. The DMRSdensity in a PBCH symbol may vary between the SSS 218 bandwidth andoutside the SSS 218 bandwidth. For example, the DMRS density within theSSS 218 bandwidth can be sparser than the DMRS density outside SSSbandwidth. In some aspects, the DMRS density outside the SSS 218bandwidth may be ⅓ while the DMRS density may be ⅙ within the SSS 218bandwidth. In some aspects, referring to the SSS 218 bandwidth may alsoinclude the PSS 216. In some aspects, the PBCH 220 within the SSS 218bandwidth may be self-decodable such that the UE 110 may use or decodeonly the SSS 218 bandwidth to detect PSS 216/SSS 218 and decode PBCH 220successfully.

Referring to FIG. 3, for example, a method 300 of wireless communicationin operating a network entity such as base station 105 according to theabove-described aspects to provide information signaling carried by DMRSwithin an SSS and/or PSS bandwidth includes one or more of theherein-defined actions.

At block 302, the method 300 may generate signaling information to becarried by a DMRS in one or more resource elements of PBCH symbols of asynchronization signal block. For example, in an aspect, base station105 may execute information signaling component 170 to generatesignaling information 176 to be carried by a DMRS 174 in one or moreresource elements 214 of PBCH symbols 220 of a synchronization signalblock 210.

At block 304, the method 300 may transmit signaling information carriedby a DMRS in one or more resource elements of PBCH symbols within abandwidth of a primary synchronization signal and a secondarysynchronization signal of a synchronization signal block. For example,in an aspect, base station 105 may execute information signalingcomponent 170 to send signaling information 176 carried by a DMRS 174 inone or more resource elements 214 of PBCH symbols 220 within a bandwidthof a primary synchronization signal (PSS 216) and a secondarysynchronization signal (SSS 218) of a synchronization signal block 210.

In some aspects, transmitting the signaling information 176 carried bythe DMRS 174 in one or more resource elements 214 of PBCH symbols withina bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal (PSS 216) and asecondary synchronization signal (SSS 218) of a synchronization signalblock 210 may include transmitting the DMRS 174 according to one or moredistinct DMRS sequences. In some aspects, the one or more distinct DMRSsequences may be based on a number of signaling bits. In some aspects,the distinct DMRS sequences may correspond to orthogonal orquasi-orthogonal DMRS sequences.

In some aspects, transmitting the signaling information 176 carried bythe DMRS 174 in one or more resource elements 214 of PBCH symbols withina bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal (PSS 216) and asecondary synchronization signal (SSS 218) of a synchronization signalblock 210 may include transmitting the signaling information 176 withina phase of the DMRS 174.

In some aspects, transmitting the signaling information 176 within aphase of the DMRS 174 may include generating a DMRS sequence in afrequency domain and applying a phase offset to the DMRS sequence toobtain an offset DMRS sequence.

In some aspects, transmitting the signaling information 176 carried bythe DMRS 174 in one or more resource elements 214 of PBCH symbols withina bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal (PSS 216) and asecondary synchronization signal (SSS 218) of a synchronization signalblock 210 may include at least one of forgoing transmission of thesignaling information 176 outside the bandwidth of the primarysynchronization signal (PSS 216) or the secondary synchronization signal(SSS 218), transmitting distinct signaling information different fromthe signaling information 176 carried by the DMRS 174 outside thebandwidth of the primary synchronization signal (PSS 216) or thebandwidth of the secondary synchronization signal (SSS 218), ortransmitting the signaling information 176 in the DMRS 174 outside thebandwidth of the primary synchronization signal (PSS 216) or thebandwidth of the secondary synchronization signal (SSS 218).

In some aspects, the DMRS 174 may include at least a portion of a systemframe number or at least a portion of a synchronization signal blocktime index value. In some aspects, the signaling information 176facilitates completion of network synchronization by at least one of aset of UEs or a subset of the set of UEs.

In some aspects, transmitting the signaling information 176 carried bythe DMRS 174 in one or more resource elements 214 of PBCH symbols withina bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal (PSS 216) and asecondary synchronization signal (SSS 218) of a synchronization signalblock 210 may include transmitting within a physical broadcast channelportion based on at least one of a distinct scrambling scheme, as partof a payload, or a distinct resource element mapping.

Referring to FIG. 4, for example, a method 400 of wireless communicationin operating UE 110 according to the above-described aspects to receivesignaling information carried by a DMRS includes one or more of theherein-defined actions.

At block 402, the method 400 may receive signaling information carriedby a DMRS within one or more resource elements of PBCH symbols within abandwidth of a primary synchronization signal and a secondarysynchronization signal of a synchronization signal block on a broadcastchannel from a network entity. For example, in an aspect, the UE 110 mayexecute synchronization component 150 to receive signaling information176 carried by a DMRS 174 within one or more resource elements 214 ofPBCH symbols 220 within a bandwidth of a primary synchronization signal(PSS 216) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS 218) of asynchronization signal block 210 on a broadcast channel from a basestation 105.

In some aspects, receiving the signaling information 176 carried by theDMRS 174 within one or more resource elements of PBCH symbols 220 withina bandwidth of the PSS 216 and the SSS 218 of the synchronization signalblock 210 may include receiving the DMRS 174 according to one or moredistinct DMRS sequences. Further, in some aspects, the one or moredistinct DMRS sequences may be based on a number of signaling bits.

In some aspects, receiving the signaling information 176 carried by theDMRS 174 within one or more resource elements of PBCH symbols 220 withina bandwidth of the PSS 216 and the SSS 218 of the synchronization signalblock 210 may include receiving the signaling information 176 within aphase of the DMRS 174. For example, the phase of the DMRS 174 maycorrespond to a phase offset applied to a DMRS sequence.

In some aspects, receiving the signaling information 176 carried by theDMRS 174 within one or more resource elements of PBCH symbols 220 withina bandwidth of the PSS 216 and the SSS 218 of the synchronization signalblock 210 may include at least one of receiving distinct signalinginformation different from the signaling information 176 carried by theDMRS 174 outside the bandwidth of the PSS 216 or the bandwidth of theSSS 218, or receiving the signaling information 176 in the DMRS 174outside the bandwidth of the PSS 216 or the bandwidth of the SSS 218.

Further, in some aspects, the DMRS 174 may include at least a portion ofa system frame number or at least a portion of a synchronization signalblock time index value.

In some aspects, receiving the signaling information 176 carried by theDMRS 174 within one or more resource elements of PBCH symbols 220 withina bandwidth of the PSS 216 and the SSS 218 of the synchronization signalblock 210 may include receiving within a physical broadcast channelportion based on at least one of a distinct scrambling scheme, as partof a payload, or a distinct resource element mapping.

Additionally, in some aspects, the signaling information 176 mayfacilitate completion of network synchronization by the UE 110.

At block 404, the method 400 may determine whether to utilize thesignaling information for synchronization with the base station. Forexample, in an aspect, the UE 110 may execute synchronization component150 to determine whether to utilize the signaling information 176 forsynchronization with the base station 105.

The method 400 may proceed to block 406 based on determining to utilizethe signaling information 176 for synchronization with the base station105. At block 406, the method 400 may perform synchronization with thebase station using the signaling information. For example, in an aspect,the UE 110 may execute synchronization component 150 to performsynchronization with the base station 105 using the signalinginformation 176 based on determining to utilize the signalinginformation 176 for synchronization with the base station 105.

The method may proceed to block 408 based on determining not to utilizethe signaling information 176 for synchronization. At block 408, themethod 400 may forgo utilization of the signaling information forsynchronization with the base station. For example, in an aspect, the UE110 may execute synchronization component 150 to forgo utilization ofthe signaling information 176 for synchronization with the base station105 based on determining not to utilize the signaling information 176for synchronization.

Referring to FIG. 5, one example of an implementation of UE 110 mayinclude a variety of components, some of which have already beendescribed above, but including components such as one or more processors512 and memory 516 and transceiver 502 in communication via one or morebuses 544, which may operate in conjunction with modem 140 andsynchronization component 150 as described herein. Further, the one ormore processors 512, modem 514, memory 516, transceiver 502, radiofrequency (RF) front end 588 and one or more antennas 565, may beconfigured to support voice and/or data calls (simultaneously ornon-simultaneously) in one or more radio access technologies. In someaspects, the modem 514 may be the same as or similar to the modem 140.

In an aspect, the one or more processors 512 can include a modem 514that uses one or more modem processors. The various functions related toresource identification component 150 may be included in modem 140and/or processors 512 and, in an aspect, can be executed by a singleprocessor, while in other aspects, different ones of the functions maybe executed by a combination of two or more different processors. Forexample, in an aspect, the one or more processors 512 may include anyone or any combination of a modem processor, or a baseband processor, ora digital signal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiverprocessor, or a transceiver processor associated with transceiver 502.In other aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors 512and/or modem 140 associated with resource identification component 150may be performed by transceiver 502.

Also, memory 516 may be configured to store data used herein and/orlocal versions of applications 575 or resource identification component150 and/or one or more of its subcomponents being executed by at leastone processor 512. Memory 516 can include any type of computer-readablemedium usable by a computer or at least one processor 512, such asrandom access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), tapes, magneticdiscs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and anycombination thereof. In an aspect, for example, memory 516 may be anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores one or morecomputer-executable codes defining resource identification component 150and/or one or more of its subcomponents, and/or data associatedtherewith, when UE 110 is operating at least one processor 512 toexecute resource identification component 150 and/or one or more of itssubcomponents.

Transceiver 502 may include at least one receiver 506 and at least onetransmitter 508. Receiver 506 may include hardware, firmware, and/orsoftware code executable by a processor for receiving data, the codecomprising instructions and being stored in a memory (e.g.,computer-readable medium). Receiver 506 may be, for example, a RFreceiver. In an aspect, receiver 506 may receive signals transmitted byat least one base station 105. Additionally, receiver 506 may processsuch received signals, and also may obtain measurements of the signals,such as, but not limited to, Ec/Io, SNR, RSRP, RSSI, etc. Transmitter508 may include hardware, firmware, and/or software code executable by aprocessor for transmitting data, the code comprising instructions andbeing stored in a memory (e.g., computer-readable medium). A suitableexample of transmitter 508 may include, but is not limited to, an RFtransmitter.

Moreover, in an aspect, UE 110 may include RF front end 588, which mayoperate in communication with one or more antennas 565 and transceiver502 for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, for example,wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station 125 orwireless transmissions transmitted by UE 110. RF front end 588 may beconnected to one or more antennas 565 and can include one or morelow-noise amplifiers (LNAs) 590, one or more switches 592, one or morepower amplifiers (PAs) 598, and one or more filters 596 for transmittingand receiving RF signals.

In an aspect, LNA 590 can amplify a received signal at a desired outputlevel. In an aspect, each LNA 590 may have a specified minimum andmaximum gain values. In an aspect, RF front end 588 may use one or moreswitches 592 to select a particular LNA 590 and its specified gain valuebased on a desired gain value for a particular application.

Further, for example, one or more PA(s) 598 may be used by RF front end588 to amplify a signal for an RF output at a desired output powerlevel. In an aspect, each PA 598 may have specified minimum and maximumgain values. In an aspect, RF front end 588 may use one or more switches592 to select a particular PA 598 and a corresponding specified gainvalue based on a desired gain value for a particular application.

Also, for example, one or more filters 596 can be used by RF front end588 to filter a received signal to obtain an input RF signal. Similarly,in an aspect, for example, a respective filter 596 can be used to filteran output from a respective PA 598 to produce an output signal fortransmission. In an aspect, each filter 596 can be connected to aspecific LNA 590 and/or PA 598. In an aspect, RF front end 588 can useone or more switches 592 to select a transmit or receive path using aspecified filter 596, LNA 590, and/or PA 598, based on a configurationas specified by transceiver 502 and/or processor 512.

As such, transceiver 502 may be configured to transmit and receivewireless signals through one or more antennas 565 via RF front end 588.In an aspect, transceiver may be tuned to operate at specifiedfrequencies such that UE 110 can communicate with, for example, one ormore base stations 125 or one or more cells associated with one or morebase stations 125. In an aspect, for example, modem 140 can configuretransceiver 502 to operate at a specified frequency and power levelbased on the UE configuration of the UE 110 and the communicationprotocol used by modem 140.

In an aspect, modem 140 can be a multiband-multimode modem, which canprocess digital data and communicate with transceiver 502 such that thedigital data is sent and received using transceiver 502. In an aspect,modem 140 can be multiband and be configured to support multiplefrequency bands for a specific communications protocol. In an aspect,modem 140 can be multimode and be configured to support multipleoperating networks and communications protocols. In an aspect, modem 140can control one or more components of UE 110 (e.g., RF front end 588,transceiver 502) to enable transmission and/or reception of signals fromthe network based on a specified modem configuration. In an aspect, themodem configuration can be based on the mode of the modem and thefrequency band in use. In another aspect, the modem configuration can bebased on UE configuration information associated with UE 110 as providedby the network during cell selection and/or cell reselection.

Referring to FIG. 6, one example of an implementation of base station105 may include a variety of components, some of which have already beendescribed above, but including components such as one or more processors612, a memory 616, and a transceiver 602 in communication via one ormore buses 644, which may operate in conjunction with modem 160 andinformation signaling component 170 to enable one or more of thefunctions described herein.

The transceiver 602, receiver 606, transmitter 608, one or moreprocessors 612, memory 616, applications 675, buses 644, RF front end688, LNAs 690, switches 692, filters 696, PAs 698, and one or moreantennas 665 may be the same as or similar to the correspondingcomponents of UE 110, as described above, but configured or otherwiseprogrammed for base station operations as opposed to UE operations.

The above detailed description set forth above in connection with theappended drawings describes examples and does not represent the onlyexamples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “example,” when used in this description, means“serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred”or “advantageous over other examples.” The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of thedescribed techniques. These techniques, however, may be practicedwithout these specific details. In some instances, well-known structuresand apparatuses are shown in block diagram form in order to avoidobscuring the concepts of the described examples.

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the above description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, computer-executable code or instructionsstored on a computer-readable medium, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connectionwith the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with aspecially-programmed device, such as but not limited to a processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmablelogic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardwarecomponent, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A specially-programmed processor may be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aspecially-programmed processor may also be implemented as a combinationof computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor,multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on anon-transitory computer-readable medium. Other examples andimplementations are within the scope and spirit of the disclosure andappended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functionsdescribed above can be implemented using software executed by aspecially programmed processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as usedin a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” indicates a disjunctivelist such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C”means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be anyavailable medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or specialpurpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation,computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desiredprogram code means in the form of instructions or data structures andthat can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer,or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connectionis properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if thesoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourceusing a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable aperson skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Variousmodifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the common principles defined herein may beapplied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scopeof the disclosure. Furthermore, although elements of the describedaspects and/or embodiments may be described or claimed in the singular,the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular isexplicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/orembodiment may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspectand/or embodiment, unless stated otherwise. Thus, the disclosure is notto be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communications at a networkentity, comprising: transmitting signaling information carried by ademodulation reference signal (DMRS) in one or more resource elements ofphysical broadcast channel (PBCH) symbols within a bandwidth of aprimary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal ofa synchronization signal block.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereintransmitting the signaling information includes transmitting the DMRSaccording to one or more distinct DMRS sequences.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the one or more distinct DMRS sequences are based on a numberof signaling bits.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting thesignaling information includes transmitting the signaling informationwithin a phase of the DMRS.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereintransmitting the signaling information within a phase of the DMRSincludes: generating a DMRS sequence in a frequency domain; and applyinga phase offset to the DMRS sequence to obtain an offset DMRS sequence,wherein the phase of the DMRS corresponds to the phase offset.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein transmitting the signaling informationincludes at least one of: forgoing transmission of the signalinginformation outside the bandwidth of the primary synchronization signalor the secondary synchronization signal, transmitting distinct signalinginformation different from the signaling information carried by the DMRSoutside the bandwidth of the primary synchronization signal or thebandwidth of the secondary synchronization signal, or transmitting thesignaling information in the DMRS outside the bandwidth of the primarysynchronization signal or the bandwidth of the secondary synchronizationsignal.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the DMRS includes at least aportion of a system frame number or at least a portion of asynchronization signal block time index value.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein transmitting the signaling information includes transmittingwithin a physical broadcast channel portion based on at least one of adistinct scrambling scheme, as part of a payload, or a distinct resourceelement mapping.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the signalinginformation facilitates completion of network synchronization by atleast one of a set of UEs or a subset of the set of UEs.
 10. A method ofwireless communications at a user equipment (UE), comprising: receivingsignaling information carried by a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)within one or more resource elements of physical broadcast channel(PBCH) symbols within a bandwidth of a primary synchronization signaland a secondary synchronization signal of a synchronization signal blockon a broadcast channel from a network entity.
 11. The method of claim10, further comprising: determining whether to utilize the signalinginformation for synchronization with the network entity; performingsynchronization with the network entity using the signaling informationbased on determining to utilize the signaling information forsynchronization with the network entity; and forgoing utilization of thesignaling information for synchronization with the network entity basedon determining not to utilize the signaling information forsynchronization.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving thesignaling information includes receiving the DMRS according to one ormore distinct DMRS sequences.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein theone or more distinct DMRS sequences are based on a number of signalingbits.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the signalinginformation includes receiving the signaling information within a phaseof the DMRS.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the phase of the DMRScorresponds to a phase offset applied to a DMRS sequence.
 16. The methodof claim 10, wherein receiving the signaling information includes atleast one of: receiving distinct signaling information different fromthe signaling information carried by the DMRS outside the bandwidth ofthe primary synchronization signal or the bandwidth of the secondarysynchronization signal, or receiving the signaling information in theDMRS outside the bandwidth of the primary synchronization signal or thebandwidth of the secondary synchronization signal.
 17. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the DMRS includes at least a portion of a system framenumber or at least a portion of a synchronization signal block timeindex value.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the signalinginformation includes receiving within a physical broadcast channelportion based on at least one of a distinct scrambling scheme, as partof a payload, or a distinct resource element mapping.
 19. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the signaling information facilitates completion ofnetwork synchronization by the UE.
 20. An apparatus, comprising: amemory; and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein theprocessor is configured to transmit signaling information carried by ademodulation reference signal (DMRS) in one or more resource elements ofphysical broadcast channel (PBCH) symbols within a bandwidth of aprimary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal ofa synchronization signal block.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20, whereinto transmit the signaling information, the processor is furtherconfigured to transmit the DMRS according to one or more distinct DMRSsequences.
 22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein to transmit thesignaling information, the processor is further configured to transmitthe signaling information within a phase of the DMRS.
 23. The apparatusof claim 20, wherein to transmit the signaling information, theprocessor is further configured to at least one of: forgo transmissionof the signaling information outside the bandwidth of the primarysynchronization signal or the secondary synchronization signal, transmitdistinct signaling information different from the signaling informationcarried by the DMRS outside the bandwidth of the primary synchronizationsignal or the bandwidth of the secondary synchronization signal, ortransmit the signaling information in the DMRS outside the bandwidth ofthe primary synchronization signal or the bandwidth of the secondarysynchronization signal.
 24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the DMRSincludes at least a portion of a system frame number or at least aportion of a synchronization signal block time index value.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein to transmit the signaling information,the processor is further configured to transmit within a physicalbroadcast channel portion based on at least one of a distinct scramblingscheme, as part of a payload, or a distinct resource element mapping.26. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communications, comprising: amemory; and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein theprocessor is configured to receiving signaling information carried by ademodulation reference signal (DMRS) within one or more resourceelements of physical broadcast channel (PBCH) symbols within a bandwidthof a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronizationsignal of a synchronization signal block on a broadcast channel from anetwork entity.
 27. The UE of claim 26, wherein to receive the signalinginformation, the processor is further configured to receive the DMRSaccording to one or more distinct DMRS sequences.
 28. The UE of claim26, wherein to receive the signaling information, the processor isfurther configured to receive the signaling information within a phaseof the DMRS.
 29. The UE of claim 26, wherein to receive the signalinginformation, the processor is further configured to at least one of:receive distinct signaling information different from the signalinginformation carried by the DMRS outside the bandwidth of the primarysynchronization signal or the bandwidth of the secondary synchronizationsignal, or receive the signaling information in the DMRS outside thebandwidth of the primary synchronization signal or the bandwidth of thesecondary synchronization signal.
 30. The UE of claim 26, wherein toreceive the signaling information, the processor is further configuredto receive within a physical broadcast channel portion based on at leastone of a distinct scrambling scheme, as part of a payload, or a distinctresource element mapping.